The crucifixion and resurrection of Messiah.
The crucifixion of Messiah is the most important event in the history of the world. It marked the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. He conquered death, sin has no more dominion over us. Hallelujah!
As a punishment, crucifixion was a painful and shameful way to die. It was the Roman way of punishing hardened criminals. Messiah willingly suffered this punishment, mocked by those who watched, crucified between two common criminals.
Messiah bore our sins and died for our sins. He condemned sin in the flesh through His death (Rom.8:3)
We who are saved and belong to Yahshua Messiah have crucified the flesh with its’ affections and lusts (Gal.5:24).

Messiah died because of the love of the Father for a lost and sinful world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. (John.3:16). By his death on the cross, He demonstrated to us what true love is. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John.15:13) His love serves as a pattern for our lives. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”(John.13:34-35).

Our Lord desires that everyone should be saved, He does not want anyone to perish. So He offered His only Son as a propitiation for our sins (1 John.2:1-2). Messiah is the only way to the Father. There is salvation only in His name (Acts.4:12).

Again, as prophesied, Messiah rose from the dead after three days and three nights. ‘Easter Sunday’, the resurrection of Messiah, is an annual festival celebrated by Christians all over the world. It is always celebrated on a Sunday. Very surprisingly, the very same people celebrate ‘Christmas’, the birth of Messiah, on a fixed ‘date’, i.e., 25 December! The early church did not celebrate ‘Easter’. The annual observance is a human tradition, introduced in the second and third centuries A.D.
Having said that, it does not reduce or lessen the importance of His resurrection.

I Cor.15:14-17,’ And if Messiah be not risen, then [is] our preaching vain, and your faith [is] also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of Yahweh; because we have testified of Yahweh that he raised up Messiah: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Messiah raised: And if Messiah be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.’

If Messiah were not risen, the preaching of the apostles is empty, meaningless, because they proclaimed nothing more than a fairy tale, a story of fiction. Our belief in Messiah would also be empty, meaningless .For our faith would be in a lie, a made up story, not truth. The apostles were not false witnesses because they swore that Elohim raised Messiah from the dead (Acts.2:32), they claimed to have spent 40 days with Him after the resurrection, eating and drinking with Him (Acts.10:39-4). There is no way they could have been deceived or mistaken; either they told the truth or they were deliberate liars, deceivers, and frauds! And if his resurrection was a lie, then we are still in our sins.  The resurrection proved Messiah's power to forgive sin. The resurrection shows Messiah’s power over death.

By raising Messiah from the dead, the Father showed His acceptance of Messiah’s sacrifice for our sins. In resurrecting Messiah from the grave, Elohim reminds us of His absolute sovereignty and power over life and death. It shows that He will raise us from the dead and will be resurrected into eternal life.

The death and resurrection of Messiah is the foundation of our faith. All other gods and prophets who have come to this world and founded different religions are dead. But we worship Elohim who came to earth in the form of man, died for us and rose again. Death has no power over Him and today He is even now interceding for us. Yahshua Messiah died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scriptures. He is coming again! When He comes, the dead in Messiah will be raised up, and those who remain and are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (I Thes.4:17).

The resurrection of Messiah is a proof of future judgment. The resurrection means, among other things, that God’s justice will ultimately prevail. The resurrection of Messiah gives us power to live the Christian life (Rom.8:11). The Bible does not teach that we will be sinless now. But, we will sin less, not because of our own strength or abilities, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Maranatha Prayer Fellowship. # 311, Agarwal Chambers, King Koti, Hyderabad-500 001, A.P.India.
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